Moody's downgrades US debt to AA1, citing rising interest costs and unsustainable debt growth

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

Moody's Ratings agency downgraded the US's sovereign debt credit rating after the market close on Friday. According to Moody's, the US is facing rising debt funding costs that far exceed those of similar government debt loads. Moody's specifically highlighted US interest obligations "that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns".

Moody's has lost faith that the US government will be able to make and execute multi-year reduction plans for reducing its deficits and debt and stating, "Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs."

Key highlights

United States ratings cut to Aa1 from AAA.

The US' long-term local and foreign-currency country ceilings remain at AAA.

We do not expect that the US' long-term growth will be significantly affected by tariffs.

We recognize the US' significant economic & financial strengths, and believe these no longer fully counterbalance decline in fiscal metrics.

We anticipate US' Federal debt burden will rise to about 134% of GDP by 2035, compared to 98% in 2024.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

AUD/USD hits three-week highs past 0.7000

Finally, AUD/USD has managed to reclaim the key 0.7000 yardstick on Tuesday. Indeed, the pair clinched its third day in a row of gains, following the persistent correction in the Greenback amid the generalised improvement in the risk-linked galaxy.

USD/JPY flatlines near 158.50 as markets seek direction

USD/JPY steadies around 158.50 in the Asian trading hours on Tuesday. Traders prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of Japan’s National Consumer Price Index inflation data later on Friday. Meanwhile, elevated US bond yields provide some support to the US Dollar against the Japanese Yen.

Gold just failed at $4,150. This is the next stop

Gold prices trade without a clear direction on Tuesday, hovering around the $4,170 region per troy ounce and still struggling to regain upside traction following Monday’s pullback. In the meantime, lower US Treasury yields and a marked pullback in the US Dollar come in tandem with the yellow metal’s price action.

Dogecoin Price Forecast: DOGE struggles below key moving average resistance

Dogecoin (DOGE) is trading marginally above $0.0800 on Tuesday, up 1% on the day, against lows around $0.0785. The meme coin is cautiously navigating a broader lethargic cryptocurrency market where Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) are struggling to gain momentum.

Markets at a turning point: Bitcoin, Gold, FX and Tech react to a heavy macro week

The new trading week opens with a mixed but revealing picture across global markets. Indices, commodities, FX, tech stocks, and cryptocurrencies are all sending one message: risk appetite is alive, but it is cautious, selective, and highly sensitive to macro signals.

The US Dollar fell. Gold didn't rally. That tells you everything

Gold (XAU/USD) is struggling to capitalize on a weaker US Dollar (USD), after repeatedly failing to establish itself above the $4,200 level. The precious metal remains confined to a relatively narrow trading range despite a combination of developments that would normally support higher prices.